2017 UCI Road World Championships - A dream coming true

Bjarte Hetlevik, Steinar Remme and Frode Nyhammer, gathered around the table where it all started in 2011.

In January 2011 three cycle enthusiasts, Bjarte Hetlevik, Steinar Remme and Frode Nyhammer, sat around a table in Steinar’s kitchen discussing a crazy idea; Would it be possible to get the Road World Championships to Bergen, Norway?

This would be the biggest event Norway had hosted since the Lillehammer Olympics, and the biggest event ever organised in Western Norway. The idea seamed farfetched, but would it be possible? 6,5 years later the impossible is about to happen.

The three men’s dream is coming true. The 16th-24th September the world is coming to the Bergen and the region. Meet the best riders in the world, watch great sporting feasts and experience the buzz around the event, when all eyes look to Western Norway.

Don’t miss one of the world’s biggest sporting events when the 2017 UCI Road World Championships is held in Bergen from 16th-24th of September.

The UCI Road World Championships will be the biggest summer sports event ever held in Norway, and the northernmost championships ever. The championships will comprise 12 races over nine days of competition and will bring more than 1,150 cyclists together from more than 80 participating nations. Crowds of around 500,000 are expected to watch the races, and more than 300 million will follow the championships on TV.

Race to Celebrate
The vision of the 2017 UCI Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway is to host a spectacular, inspiring and popular event. Bergen 2017’s slogan is ‘Race to Celebrate’, and it aims to engage the whole world, not just through the sporting feats, but also by organising fun activities for the crowds “en route”, a children’s race, a mass participation event, and a focus on public health. The UCI Road World Championships will be an event for everyone.

Taste of the programme:16 September:
Opening ceremony17 September:
Team Time Trial18-20 September:
Time Trial21 September:
Public race: Race to celebrate22-24 September:
Road Races

TEAM TIME TRIAL
The UCI Road World Championships start on Askøy with Team Time Trials for the professional women’s and men’s teams. This will be a spectacular and entertaining race that will be the perfect start of the 2017 UCI Road World Championships. The Team Time Trials for women and men will follow the same route. They will start on the island of Askøy, just outside Bergen. This beautiful island will provide the perfect backdrop for the start of the 2017 UCI Road World Championships. The finish line is at Festplassen square in the heart of Bergen.

TIME TRIAL
The races take place in Bergen and the areas around the city. One of the highlights of the championships will be on 20th September when the Men’s Elite Time Trial will cross the finish line at the top of Mount Fløyen. This is the very first time a World Championships Time Trial will finish on top of a mountain! The climb up Mount Fløyen is 3.4 km with an average gradient of 9.1%.

ROAD RACE
The Road Races will take place on a spectacular circuit in and around Bergen. The Men’s Road Race will start in Øygarden, with the sea and the beautiful coastal landscape as a backdrop. The setting will give the crowds, the riders and, not least, the TV-viewers a magical experience when the 2017 UCI Road World Championships in Bergen conclude with the Men’s Elite Road Race on the last weekend of the championships. The celebration of Norwegian coastal culture is an important feature of Bergen 2017, and there will be a great atmosphere in Øygarden and Fjell on the last weekend of the event. The highlight will be the climb ‘Salmon Hill’ up towards Mount Ulriken. When the best riders in the world battle it out for the coveted rainbow jersey here, the dream of the three enthusiasts has really come true!